Lily Manolas

Although art is completely up for interpretation, and even I as the artist have many interpretations for my work, the main message is embracing uniqueness and being alone. The need to fit in is one that is ingrained into us as a society however it’s completely unnecessary, you don’t need to look or act like everyone around you. In order to properly appreciate the beauty in your surroundings, you need to first appreciate and recognise your own beauty and uniqueness. The meaning behind my work is important to me because it’s drawn from my own struggles with anxiety and my sexuality. Being a queer teenager with anxiety means I constantly feel out of place or isolated. It took me a while to recognise that I don’t need to look or act like the people around me, and being alone isn’t even a bad thing. Alone doesn’t have to mean lonely, which is why my work slowly begins to progress to busier compositions of all different architecture and abstract features.

Works by Lily Manolas